[ljnelson109]

Hi, I am Lee. I am an addict. We used to replace both of our cars every 2-3 years. That meant that almost every year we were shopping for cars. It is an expensive habit and also becomes an obsession. I broke the cycle with my current '09 Town and Country. Not having car payments has been amazing. But, the party is over. AND now I am intrigued (becoming obsessed) with the concept of a PHEV mini-van. I really, really wish that I had not fallen off the wagon quite as early as I did. I would love to just walk into a dealer and drive one of these babies. I am quickly losing my self-control and an order is quite possibly in my near future. And then there is the wait and constantly monitoring the process.

Just to let you know how bad it has gotten for me in the past, the last time I ordered a vehicle, I ended up on a first name basis with a lady in the dispatch office at the Janesville, WI factory. She was so helpful, I ended up sending her flowers. Then, I walked into a CSX office near here (after my Janesville contact told me the rail car had been sitting at the depot here for a few days) and confronted the staff about my vehicle. At first, they were indignant and I think considering calling security. When I produced the rail car number and they discovered an internal mistake where a batch of rail cars had been sitting on a spur for a few days, they became more worried about their jobs than my presence. And then, when it was unloaded and handed off to the hauling company (to take to my out of state dealer) I bribed someone in the trucking company office to expedite the transport. Finally, I then called the dealer the day it was supposed to arrive to arrange pickup. The dealer insisted that it was not supposed to arrive that day but "if it does, we will do what we can". It was clear that he just wanted to shut me up. Needless to say, we were at the dealer until it closed that night and he ended up keeping a guy there late to do the PDI and prep. Yes, I have a problem. I thought I had licked it. Here I go again.....

Lee

 

[rkalla]

Just to let you know how bad it has gotten for me in the past, the last time I ordered a vehicle, I ended up on a first name basis with a lady in the dispatch office at the Janesville, WI factory... <snip>

Hahah, this was a super entertaining read... I can related to this so much; while I haven't taken it quite this far before, I am 100% in support of "making things happen at the rate I want them to go"

Out of curiosity, since you turn cars over so frequently... any favorites you've had either models or manufacturers?

Also, if you want us to talk you out of the purchase, I can provide a more helpful response than semi-egging you on... I just wasn't sure

 

[ljnelson109]

Out of curiosity, since you turn cars over so frequently... any favorites you've had either models or manufacturers?

My data is dated since I have not bought anything in 8 years! Many of my vehicle changes were based on the excuse that my requirements had changed. For example, I had a 1997 Grand Cherokee. I have since learned that this was my wife's favorite SUV that have ever owned.... BUT, I wanted a 3rd row (pre-kids, no legit excuse) and a new truck. So, I replaced with a 2000 GMC Yukon. I liked that truck, but then decided I wanted the real 3rd row so I swapped for a 2002 Suburban. In 2005, I made a purely "luxury" upgrade from the Suburban to the Yukon XL Denali. This was, by far my favorite SUV we have had. But in 2008, I needed more towing capacity and went looking at 3/4 ton diesel pickups. I shopped all 3 and preferred the Ford Super Duty. This one has stuck, my towing requirements (5th wheel camper) have not changed so I have not had an excuse to replace.

In parallel, though, my wife had a Saab 9-3 which was not practical in anything but sunny weather. As an over-reaction, we replaced with a Toyota Highlander. The commute increased and we realized we had over-reacted, so we moved back to a Chevy Malibu Maax. That was a good vehicle until the 3rd kid in car seat was scheduled to arrive. So, we ended up buying a minivan. In '07, all of the respected authorities on vehicles insisted that the Honda Odyssey was the minivan of choice. We hated it. We really did. Within a year, we were miserable. We did not like the ride. We did not like ergonomics. The economy, even with the variable cylinder feature, was lame. We tried to find a sedan that could accommodate the 3 car seats (one was a booster by now) but failed. So, we replaced with the current '09 T&C. We have loved this van. It has been reliable. It has been comfortable. But, it has 170K miles on it and is starting to take on some quirks. If we can fix some of these issues without much cost, we would be content to hang onto it for a few months while the dust settles on the Pacifica Hybrid. That said, however, back to my original post- Once I get that bug, I lose my sensibilities.

In the end, my story is more of a tale of caution rather than an enlightening one. Selling or trading at or before the 30 month mark does not really provide much data regarding longevity. The only wisdom I can offer was that the Highlander was the only one that had positive equity that early in its life cycle. Even the Honda required a private party sale. The dealer where I bought my T&C pretty much called me a liar when I told him what I got for it in private party sale. He said, "If you can sell that van for that price, I want you on my used car sales team". I got lucky..... I found someone who wanted that exact van, color, trim level, condition. He got a good deal, but apparently paid more than the typical market price for that van in 2009!

Lee

 

[generaltso]

Thanks for the entertaining read, Lee! I get the new car bug every few years as well. My wife hates it, but she's come to accept it. The Pacifica is her car, so we'll likely keep it for at least 5 years. But my Cherokee will be 3 years old this summer, so I'm already looking. The Pacifica Hybrid is on the list, though I'll have to convince myself that having two minivans is okay first.